A Windows Server 2003-based computer or a Windows XP-based computer crashes when an interrupt storm is generated by the Acpi.sys driver

Your Windows Server 2003-based computer or Windows XP-based computer crashes because the Acpi.sys driver generates an "interrupt storm."

Note An interrupt storm is defined as a level-triggered interrupt signal that remains in an asserted state.

• To fix this problem for Windows Server 2003, go to the "Resolution for Windows Server 2003" section.
• To fix this problem for Windows XP, go to the "Resolution for Windows XP" section.

To resolve this problem, you must first obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003. Then you must go to the "Status" section to fix the problem. To obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.
Now go to the "Status" section to fix this problem.

To resolve this problem, you must first obtain the latest service pack for Windows XP. Then you must go to the "Status" section to fix the problem. To obtain the latest service pack for Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Note The fix for Windows XP was not released as a hotfix.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and in Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Now that you have downloaded the service pack, you can have us fix the problem for you, or you can fix the problem yourself. To have us fix this problem for you, go to the "Fix it for me" section. If you’d rather fix this problem yourself, go to the "Let me fix it myself" section.

To fix this problem automatically, click the Fix this problem link. Then click Run in the File Download dialog box, and follow the steps in this wizard.

Fix this problem

Note This wizard is temporarily in English only. However, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.

Note If you are not on the computer that has the problem, you can save the automatic fix to a flash drive or a CD and then run it on the computer that has the problem.

To check whether this resolved the problem, go to the "Did this fix the problem?" section.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: After you apply the service pack or the hotfix, you must change the following registry subkey: To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ACPI\Parameters
   Note If the Parameters subkey does not exist, follow these steps:
   1. Right-click ACPI, point to New, and then click Key.
   2. Type Parameters as the subkey name, and then press ENTER.
3. Right-click the Attributes entry, and then click Modify.
   
   Note If the Attributes entry does not exist, follow these steps:
   1. Right-click Parameters, point to New, and then click DWORD value.
   2. Type Attributes as the entry name, and then press ENTER.
4. In the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, click Hexadecimal, type 100 in the Value data box, and then click OK.
5. Close Registry Editor.

For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: